Postal franking machine including a moistening device for franked adhesive strips



' Filed April 16, 1964 Dec. 26, 1967 M. LEIBBRAND 3,359,896

POSTAL FRANKING MACHINE INCLUDING A MOISTENING DEVICE FOR FRANKED ADHESIVE STRIPS lxvnwrof:

MAPT/N LE/BBRA ND 3 Sheets-Sheet l ,1 v M. LEIBBRAND 3,359,895

POSTAL FRANKING MACHINE INCLUDING A MOISTENING DEVICE FOR FRANKED ADHESIVE STRIPS Filed April 16, 1964 v llvmvrmP: MART/N LE/BBRAND AGENK r Y 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 M. LEIBBRA'NDK Dec. 26, 1967 POSTAL FRANKI NG MACHINE INCLUDING A MOISTENING DEVICE FOR FRANKED ADHESIVE STRIPS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 16, 1964 INVENTOP: I MARTIN LE/BBRAND AGENT United States Patent T 23, 4 Claims. (Cl. 101-235) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A postal franking machine is described for alternatively franking postal matter, such as letters and post cards, and franking adhesive strips which, after moistening, can be stuck to packets and other postal matter. The invention provide-s such a machine which incorporates a moistening device for adhesive strips, and means for directing the strips across the moistening device whereas postal matter or adhesive strips, which do not require moistening, bypass the moistening device.

Disclosure of the invention The invention relates to postal franking machines. Franking machines have already been proposed for franking postal matter such as letters and post cards. It has also been proposed to frank adhesive strips by means of such franking machines, which strips, after moistening, can be stuck to packets or other postal matter.

In United States Patent No. 2,683,413, dated July 13, 1954, of Wilhelm Miiller, assignor to Telephonbau und Normalzeit Gesel lschaft mit beschrankter Haftung a franking machine has been disclosed for alternatively franking postal matter or paper strips.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a postal franking machine, for example, of the general type disclosed in said United States patent, the machine incorporating a device for moistening adhesive strips.

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a postal franking machine by means of which, as desired, either postal matter is franked and ejected from the machine or adhesive strips are franked and are automatically moistened prior to being ejected.

It is another object to provide means in a ranking machine as referred to in the last preceding paragraph by means of which the machine is automatically reset by postal matter when passing through the machine to franking without moistening after the machine had been set to "franking and moistening.

. These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a specific embodiment of the invention which is given by way "of example and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein;

. FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the moistening 'device in section;

FIG. 2 is a driving roller ot a conveying mechanism in sect-ion;

FIG. 3 is the moistening device in perspective view;

FIG. 4 represents the moistening device in a diiferen't working position from that in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 and 6 represent a locking lever [for an ejection chute in two different working positions.

The embodiment illustrated comprises a franking machine 1, details of which are omitted. The franking machine part 1 is arranged above a channel shaped guide 2,

Patented Dec. 26, 1967 within which runs a conveyor belt 14 driven by a roller 3, which conveyor belt conveys postal matter 34 which is to be franked underneath the flanking machine part 1. The width of a feed opening 4 between the underside of the. franking machine part 1 and the upper side of the conveyor belt 14 corresponds to the thickness of the postal matter.

A serrated ejector roller 5 is mounted upon a shaft 6 arranged above the driving roller 3 of the conveyor belt 14. Upon the shaft 6, a chute 7 is rockably mounted by means of lugs 8 and 9. The lug 9 carries a nose 36 (FIGS. 3 and 4) which bears upon an extension 26 of a push button 23 (FIG. 3). So long as the push button 23 is situated in its rest position, the chute 7 will maintain its elevated rest position, in which it is situated out of the path of movement of the postal matter. If, however, the push button 23 is depressed in a direction opposite to the arrow of FIG. 4, the chute 7 is lowered and one of its ends, which is formed as a deflector tongue 17, is interposed in the path of movement of the postal matter. The driving roller 3 is provided with a circumferential channel 16 in the plane of the deflector tongue 17 (FIG. 2). Due to its resilience and flexibility, the conveyor belt 14 conforms automatically to the shape of the channel 16 of the driving roller 3 so that the deflector tongue 17 comes into a position below the outer plane of the conveyor belt. In this position of the chute 7, a franking strip of paper conveyed by the conveyor belt 14 through the franking machine is deflected by the deflector tongue 17 and is guided into the chute 7.

Behind the chute 7 and above the path of movement of the postal matter there is arranged a moistening brush 11 in a channel 39 of U-shaped cross section, this brush being maintained wet from a water container 13 by means of a piece of sponge 12. The franking strip 10 conveyed into the chute 7 by means of the deflector tongue 17 has its adhesive lower side passed over the free end of the moistening brush 11, and remains in a position in which, after being moistened, it may easily be gripped by hand in order to be stuck upon the postal matter.

The push button 23 is guided in an angle bracket 18 provided with two guide slots 21 and 22, this angle bracket carrying a pin 19 around which is a compression spring 20 acting upon the push button. A threaded pin 24 of the push button 23 is situated in the closed slot 21 and limits the motion of the push button in the direction of the arrow of FIG. 4. A further pin 25 carried by the push button is. guided in the slot 22 and is adapted to cooperate with a movable latch 28, which is pivotally mounted upon a pin 27 in the angle bracket 18. The latch 28 is under the influence of a torsion spring 29 which is wound about the pin 27 and has its other end bearing against a stationary pin 37. A locking disc 35 holds the spring 29 upon the pin 27. The latch 28 can thus pivot about the pin 27 and can also be rocked in the plane of the pin 27.

At that side which faces the push button 23, the latch 28 is provided with cavities 30 which are formed as slotshaped locking guides and cooperate with the pin 25 of the push button 23. The locking guides are so designed that, after depression of the push button 23' the latter is maintained in the operating position shown in FIG. 4 and after repeated depression is released and can return under the influence of the spring 20 into its rest position shown in FIG. 3.

Upon a pin 38 a feeler lever 31 is pivotally mounted, which has a free end designed as a nose-piece 32 projecting into the feed opening 4 through which the letters are passed and in a position laterally removed with respect to the path of a franking strip 10. A postal article 34, which is substantially wider than a frank-ing strip 10, when running through the machine lifts the nose-piece 32 and therefore rocks the lever 31, so that its rearwardly extending nose-piece 33 operates upon the latch 28 and rocks the latter for the purpose of releasing the pin 25 of the push button 23. The push button 23 returning into its rest position also rocks the chute 7 so that the deflector tongue 17 thereof moves out of the path of movement of the postal article 34. By virtue of this positive unlocking operation of the push button 23, the condition is avoided in which a postal article conveyed through the franking machine could impinge upon the deflector tongue 17 of the chute 7 and be damaged thereby should the operator forget to return the ejection chute 7 into the rest posit-ion by renewed pressure upon the push button 23.

If a franking strip printed by the franking machine part 1 is to be moistened, then the push button 23 is previously depressed. The locking latch 28 in its working position locks the push button 23 in its depressed position. The ejection chute 7 follows the movement of the push button under the influence of gravity and its deflector tongue 17 places itself in the path of movement of the paper strip 10. The franking strip 10, guided between the conveyor belt 14 and the ejection roller 5, which is f-rictionally rotated by the strip 10, is caused to run into the ejection chute 7 and over the moistened brush 11. The franking strip can then easily be drawn off and stuck on by hand, whilst when drawing off the strip the rear end thereof is fully moistened by the damp brush 11.

If it is desired to have a dry franking strip, then the push button 23 is released by depressing it again. The locking latch 28 is then caused to come under the influence of its spring 29 to return into the rest position and releases the push button 23. Due to the pressure of the compression spring 20, the push button 23 springs back into the rest position and, by means of the extension 26, takes the ejection chute 7 with it. The deflector tongue 17 then lies above the feed opening 4 for the letters so that the franking strip 10 is ejected without being deflected.

In the foregoing description and in the attached drawings, various parts known per se, such as means for driving the driving roller 3, the mechanical co-operation of the franking machine with the moistening means 11, 12, 13 have been omitted. In this respect reference may be had to the United States patent hereinbefore referred to.

The moistening device is covered over by a suitable lid 40 shown in FIG. 1, except for a narrow slot through which the paper strip emerges, this lid being omitted in FIGS. 3 and 4.

It should be clearly understood that the embodiment described and illustrated is only given by way of example, and that many modifications, omissions and additions are possible without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a postal franking machine including a first franking part and a second feeding part for alternatively feeding through the machine postal matter and adhesive strips to be applied to postal matter after they have been franked by said franking part, the combination comprising means for moistening adhesive strips, a rockably mounted chute leading to said moistening means, and means for rocking said chute from one position into another position, an end of said chute when in said one position being removed from the path of movement of postal matter to cause the same to by-pass said chute and said moistening means, said end of said chute when in said other position being arranged close to the path of movement of said strips to guide the same to said moistening means for being moistened before leaving the machine, said end of said chute being formed as a deflector which, in said other position of said chute, projects into said path of movement of said strips to deflect the same towards said chute.

2. A franking machine as defined in claim 1, wherein said feeding part comprises a flexible conveyor belt for alternatively passing said postal matter and said strips through the machine, and a driving roller for said conveyor belt, said driving roller having a circumferential depression situated substantially in the same transverse plane through the axis of said driving roller as the plane in which said deflector is situated, said depression permitting the contour of said flexible conveyor belt to be deformed by pressure exerted by said deflector when said chute is in said other position for facilitating the entry of said strips into said chute.

3. In a postal franking machine including a first franking part and a second feeding part for alternatively feeding through the machine postal matter and adhesive strips to be applied to postal matter after they have been franked by said franking part, the combination comprising means for moistening adhesive strips, a rockably mounted chute leading to said moistening means, means for rocking said chute from one position into another position, said chute When in said one position being removed from the path of movement of postal matter to cause the same to by-pass said chute and said moistening means, said chute when in said other position being arranged close to the path of movement of said strips to guide the same to said moistening means for being moistened before leaving the machine, a push button, and a mechanism for resetting said push button from a depressed position to a raised position, said resetting mechanism including a latch, and a spring arranged for urging said push button into said raised position, said push button being linked to said chute for rocking the same from said other position into said one position when said push button is raised from said depressed position into said raised position, said latch being arranged to hold said push button in said depressed position against the action of said spring after a first depression of said push button, said latch being released on a second depression of said push button to allow said push button to return to said raised position under the action of said spring.

4. A franking machine as defined in claim 3, and further comprising a feeler lever arranged to project into said path of movement of postal matter, but being laterally displaced from said path of movement of said strips and being arranged for operating said latch, when said feeler lever is actuated by postal matter.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,035,374 3/1936 Phillips .1. 118-209 1,949,158 2/1934- Gay 156-388 1,633,698 6 1927 Davis 118-209 2,302,261 11/ 1942 Ryan 1206- XR EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner.

PHILIP DIER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A POSTAL FRANKING MACHINE INCLUDING A FIRST FRANKING PART AND A SECOND FEEDING PART FOR ALTERNATIVELY FEEDING THROUGH THE MACHINE POSTAL MATTER AND ADHESIVE STRIPS TO BE APPLIED TO POSTAL MATTER AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN FRANKED BY SAID FRANKING PART, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING MEANS FOR MOISTENING ADHESIVE STRIPS, A ROCKABLY MOUNTED CHUTE LEADING TO SAID MOISTENING MEANS, AND MEANS FOR ROCKING SAID CHUTE FROM ONE POSITION INTO ANOTHER POSITION, AN END OF SAID CHUTE WHEN IN SAID ONE POSITION BEING REMOVED FROM THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF POSTAL MATTER TO CAUSE THE SAME TO BY-PASS SAID CHUTE AND SAID MOISTENING MEANS, SAID END OF SAID CHUTE WHEN IS SAID OTHER POSITION BEING ARRANGED CLOSE TO THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF SAID STRIPS TO GUIDE THE SAME TO SAID MOISTENING MEANS FOR BEING MOISTENED BEFORE LEAVING THE MACHINE, SAID END OF SAID CHUTE BEING FORMED AS A DEFLECTOR WHICH, IN SAID OTHER POSITION OF SAID CHUTE, PROJECTS INTO SAID PATH OF MOVEMENT OF SAID STRIPS TO DEFLECT THE SAME TOWARDS SAID CHUTE. 